Too Quiet
by MysticalAce12
Summary: He disappeared. She's broken. Literally.


Tears. Endless tears that would not stop falling. She's crying for him for what seemed the millionth time. She would always try to stop the tears, but they would return. But no matter how often they fell, they wouldn't bring him back. She stares into the empty fireplace, which was scattered with ashes, unused for weeks. She looked around her, glaring at the empty space, when she spots a picture. "No!" she screams to herself, bordering on the edge of insanity. "He will find a way back, he always does," she mutters to herself, curling up into a small ball, rocking back and forth. She slowly finds herself being sucked into another flashback...

{}

"No!" she replied, her voice filled with mock horror.  
He laughed at the expression on her face. "It's true," he winked.  
It was a beautiful, bright sunny day, with a clear blue sky. Not a single cloud dared to linger for very long. They were enjoying their picnic in peace, laughing and eating together. Birds chirped cheerfully, while rabbits hopped around them, having been used to their presence in the garden. She sighed happily, while gently placing her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she feels a tugging on her navel, slowly realizing he had apparated the both of them somewhere else.

She gasped loudly as she looked at where he had taken her.  
They had arrived at a snow white gazebo, overlooking mountains, with the sound of a waterfall, gently trickling in the background. "This... Is... Wow..." she stuttered, speechless.  
He laughed at her ability of not being able to put together a sentence, before placing his hand on the side of her face, and gently turning it so he could stare into those kind, chocolate orbs of hers.  
He kneeled down on one knee, holding both of her hands. "Hermione Jean Granger," he pauses, before continuing. "Will you be my wife and spend eternity with me?"

Her eyes widen with shock as she realizes what's happening. "Yes," she murmurs. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!" she says, gradually getting louder until she screamed out the last word and ran to kiss him.  
He pulled away from the kiss and smirked at her. "Well, if you don't want the ring..."  
"GIVE ME THE RING RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO MERLIN THAT I'LL..."  
He chuckled lightly. "Calm down 'Mione."  
He gently pulled out a small, velvet box from the pocket of his silk jacket, before delicately opening it to show Hermione.

She stared at it, in awe. Almost _hanging _off the golden circle was a heavy-looking collection of diamonds, arranged in the form of a standing otter. Hermione's lips pulled up into a sheepish smile.

He delicately takes the ring from the box and slips it onto her left hand. She gazed at it, feeling as though she was floating on a cloud, high above the ground. "A perfect day," she whispered, as she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and rest their head on her shoulders.

{}

She laughs. A cruel, humourless laugh. She stands up abruptly, before moving to the nearest vase, and destroying with her bare hands. She had no use for a wand. Nor did she have one. She snapped it months ago. She sighs, before murmuring a spell. A Firewhisky bottle zooms from the kitchen and lands into her hands. She opens it and takes a swig, welcoming the feel of the burning liquid sliding down her throat.

The sound of footsteps is heard loudly, in front of the door. The brunette quickly jumps into shadows, almost with a fear. "'Mione?" the voice calls out lightly. "It's just me. I'm coming, okay?"  
She hisses at the voice, before seeing the intruder. "What do you want Weaslette?" she spits.  
"I'm just coming to check on you." She carefully places her bag down on the floor, before slowly advancing towards the delusional brunette.  
"Stay away from me!" she yells at the fiery-head girl, backing away from her.  
Seeing as the girl wouldn't heed her warning, she turns and runs up the stairs into their room. 'No,' she thinks to herself. 'My room.' She sniffs, feeling the tears coming back again.

Hermione shakes her head. The tears didn't really mean anything anymore. She didn't live through each day. She barely survives. She opens the door and walks towards the bed and flops onto it, landing face first. She was just too tired. Hermione just wanted to stop feeling alone. Tired. Sick. _'But you have us,'_ the voices in her head whispers. _'You're never alone with us..'_

She shakes her head, as if that would cure the voices. "Leave me alone," she mumbles.

_'But without us, you wouldn't be alive.'_

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WANT TO BE ALIVE?!" she yells back at the voices, moving to sit on the bed.

_'In the hope that he will come back.'_

She falls silent, recognizing the truth in the sentence.  
_'He's not coming back, you know.'_

She growls. "Yes he is. He will. And that's final."

Unexpectedly, all she sees is red. She takes out her anger on everything and anything around her. She swings her arms wildly, causing things to fall to the ground and break into a million pieces. She stops for a millisecond, as she watches the things around her. Things seemed to smash and crumble in slow motion, as her tears mimic the same idea. Beloved pictures and vases were falling to the ground and breaking with an ear-piercing sound. But Hermione couldn't take it in. Her body numb and tired, and her brain could not think for herself. She loses all of her energy and falls limp, sinking into the ground.

Hermione curled into a ball with all the shards, which started cutting into her pale skin. But she couldn't feel it. She just wanted to know that she was alive. And not the undead, void corpse that she felt.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

{}

Ginny takes her time climbing up the stairs, knowing Hermione's habits. She opens the door and takes one look at the girl, who looks as though she was stuck in a picture, forever trapped. "Why do you do it Hermione?" she mutters to herself, before carefully advancing towards her. But she knows why. Ever since that fateful day…  
She forcefully pushes the thought out of her mind, as she helps Hermione to get up.  
She takes out her wand and mutters _'Wingardium Leviosa'_ to lift Hermione from the bed to the bathroom, following her floating body. As Hermione glides in the air, she murmurs 'It's '_Wingardium LeviOsa'_ not_ 'Leviosaaaa'_."

She starts to run a nice hot bath, before closing the door after Hermione has landed and locks it, to make sure she takes the bath and stays there. Ginny walks swiftly back into the bedroom, and with a quick flick of her wand, and a mutter of _'Reparo'_before everything is returned to its original state. She takes a glance at the bathroom door, taking comfort in the fact that it hasn't been opened yet. She proceeds to walk out of the bedroom and head towards the kitchen, to fix a small snack for Hermione after her bath.

Hermione glares at the mysterious person in the mirror. She didn't recognize herself anymore. With sunken-in cheeks and clothes hanging off her thin, fragile body, she looked like a skeleton. Bones were revealed, in odd and unnatural places. The once soft, kind, brown eyes were piercing and hard, guarding what little sanity she had left. Her hair was unhealthy and thin, almost a sickly colour.

Her head snaps to the left, her attention caught by the spacious bath, where the water is trickling. She frowns at the bath, at first confused to what to do with it. She gazes at it for a moment, before the idea strikes her. She slowly peels her clothes off, sticking to her skin like glue. She dumps them on the floor, not caring what happens to them and slowly steps into the bath.

She intakes a sharp breath, the hot water scalding her cold skin. Gently, she places one part of her body, until all is immersed in water but her head. Turning off the running water, she tries to untangle the clump of hair, but with no avail. She allows herself to float, having nothing on her mind, before drifting into another flashback.

{}

"Stop it!" she squealed, as she felt the coolness of the water splash onto her.  
He laughed, watching her trying to squirm away from the water on her chair. "Make me," he said, as he floated on his back and kicked more water toward her.  
There was no use sun tanning now. She was completely drenched. She looked at him, one eyebrow high. "Oh, I will," she declared, standing up and diving into the water to tackle him, all within a blink of the eye.

Water was splashed about, becoming bigger and better every time, until the sides of the pool were soaked too. They gradually calmed down, laughing at each other's silliness. He grabbed her and they held each other, thinking about what lay only 2 weeks ahead. Their wedding.

{}

She woke up spluttering, trying to get rid of the water that tried to claim her life. Her coughs resounded around the bathroom, as she leant against one side to calm herself. Slowly the water disappears from her lungs, allowing her to breathe the bitter air again. She wanted him. No. She _needed_ him.  
_'He's disappeared. Forever._'

"NO!" she yells as she shakes her head fiercely. "He's coming back. He always does."  
She exhaled deeply, pushing the thought out of her mind. She continued her bath, washing herself countless times, as if trying to make herself forget everything. Her pale skin turned maroon, as her scrubbing turned harsh and painful. She finally decides to step out of the bath, reaching for a towel as she does so. She tucks the towel around herself as she looks at herself again in the mirror. Still delicate.

She turns around to drain the bath, but something stops her in her tracks. She feels someone's arms wrap around her waist and a chin on her shoulder. She carefully turns around slowly to find Draco, alive and well, with his trademark smirk on his face. "Missed me love?" Hermione stares at him, eyes widening in shock, until she clasps onto his hand and runs down the stairs.

"GINNY!" she yells at the top of her lungs. "GINNY. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS."  
Ginny bursts out of the kitchen, looking at Hermione, quite baffled. "What's wrong Hermione?"  
Hermione stares at Ginny quizzically. "Draco! He's back! He's standing right next to me! See?!" she gestures wildly to the person standing beside her.  
Ginny glances beside Hermione, before cautiously walking towards her and embracing her in a hug.

"Hermione. There's no one there."


End file.
